Prep football: Warriors dominate Royals in second half, win 41-7

Both Edmonds-Woodway coach John Gradwohl and Lynnwood coach Keauntea Bankhead had positive comments about their teams after Friday night’s Wesco 3A football showdown.

But Gradwohl definitely left Edmonds Stadium feeling better as the Warriors overpowered the Royals in the second half en route to a 41-7 victory.

The victory didn’t come easy for Edmonds-Woodway (2-1 in the league, 3-2 overall) as the Warriors trailed 7-0 after the first quarter and led only 13-7 at halftime. Both touchdowns were on runs by Tyler Rheinford. Quarterback Alton Hammond scored the Royals’ lone TD.

“Lynnwood played a good first half and challenged us,” Gradwohl said. “I was glad to see my kids hang in there and adjust and make some plays that we needed to make.

“The first half, we continued to make some mistakes we need to get better at eliminating. The second half was better. The kids got better. That’s all you can hope for.”

Edmonds-Woodway exploded for four unanswered touchdowns in the second half.

Edmonds-Woodway’s Anthony Lindamod returns an interception.

“They’re big up front,” Bankhead said. “They had the edge on us tonight. The game was won up front. They had good running backs and we just couldn’t stop them. They had a good counter play. That’s what they run. That’s what expected them to run.

“It’s just a matter of stopping it. We didn’t do that tonight.”

Gradwohl agreed.

“Offensively, the running backs and the offensive line, it was their game,” he said.

Lynnwood ‘s Hammond was difficult to contain throughout the night. But Edmonds-Woodway’s front eight did a decent job, Gradwohl said.

“Team run and team stopping the run. That kind of what it was tonight,” he added.

Lynnwood (1-2, 2-3) suffered lost a couple of starters in the second half, which impacted the play of the team.

“I thought my guys played well,” Bankhead said. “The first half of football was great. We just lost a couple of guys, a couple of starters. Once that first wave was down, it gets a little shaky. We’ve got to get our younger guys ready to play football.”

Gradwohl likes the direction his team is headed following back-to-back wins against Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood.

“The kids are showing up and working hard,” he said. “We’re identifying our weaknesses and working on them. And we’re not perfect by any means. I think we’re raising our batting average.”

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